Karen A.D. Burton is a marketer and architectural designer who has contributed technical expertise to the design teams for large-scale architectural projects in Michigan and Las Vegas, NV.
She has provided design and construction documentation services for such projects as the One Campus Martius building (formerly Compuware Headquarters), The Lions Training Facility, Ford Field, Greektown Casino in Detroit, and City Center in Las Vegas – the U.S.’ largest private development at that time.
Karen identified a need for marketing, business development and communications for small AEC companies who lack those services in-house, and shifted the focus of her consultancy Building Industry Resources.
Because her passion is in the business side of the building industry, Karen recognized the need for a community to share ideas, best business practices, and workspace. She co-founded SpaceLab Detroit with her husband Bobby. SpaceLab is a professional shared office and coworking space that gives small businesses and startups resources to grow and compete for larger projects and to be a part of Detroit’s resurgence.
Through her businesses and professional organization memberships, Karen advocates for inclusion and diversity in the design, construction and real estate professions. She is co-founder of Noir Design Parti and A/E Collaborative, a charter member of the Detroit chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects and the National Association of Black Women in Construction, a former board member of the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, and a program director for Project: Accelerate, a program that exposes women ages 18 and older to construction and related professions.
Karen is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and has completed coursework toward a Master of Business Administration at Wayne State University. She is a 2019 graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn and follow SpaceLab Detroit on Facebook and Twitter.
